Panem
by Pip117
Summary: Katniss Everdeen works at the trendiest restaurant in New York City and doesn't have the time or emotional availability for anything besides her sister Prim until she meets the new pastry chef at Panem. Will he be able to work his way past her emotional walls and into her heart? Will she be able to work past her fears of love and heart ache? Of the possibility of letting your heart


_**I don't own the hunger games or any of the characters from that book, I only own the plot. **_

**Summary: **Katniss Everdeen works at the trendiest restaurant in New York City and doesn't have the time or emotional availability for anything besides her sister Prim until she meets the new pastry chef at _Panem_. Will he be able to work his way past her emotional walls and into her heart? Will she be able to work past her fears of love and heart ache? Of the possibility of letting your heart get shattered? Will the pressure and money that comes along with working at the busiest restaurant in the United States and a strict "no fraternization" policy be enough to keep them from falling for one another, or is it hopeless to resist? Everlark…..eventually. Yea…this summary sucks and it sounds cheesy…

**Chapter 1**

Katniss didn't think she'd ever be comfortable with the constant "GO" that was common with life in New York City. Almost every day she found herself wishing that she could go back into the woods of her childhood home in rural Pennsylvania, but every time she did she consciously dragged herself back to the present moment in the city that never sleeps. That was a long time ago. No use going back there, where there are only the memories that constantly torment her.

_Panem. _It was the newest, trendiest and most elegant restaurant in their bustling metropolis with marble floors, granite table tops and fine crystal stemware. It wasn't uncommon for A-list celebrities to be waiting at the bar patiently for their table to open up at restaurant mogul Coriolanus Snow's latest attraction. With all of the pomp and circumstance associated with this place, Katniss felt far from comfortable within its walls. The one thing that helped her cope was the fact that she made GREAT money working as a waitress here. At 25 years old, she was finally able to stand on her own two feet and live fairly comfortably thanks to the income she now had. _Panem's _doors had only been open for six months at this point and Katniss only working here for the past three, but in those three months she had been able to put aside enough money to move into a small two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with here younger sister Prim who was a medical student at Columbia.

For the past 8 years Katniss and Prim had to take on the world with only each other for support. Katniss was 17 when her parents died, Prim just 13 and it had been the hardest thing that either of them could have ever imagined dealing with. The small insurance settlement that they received was enough to pay for Katniss to go to the local college, and since the house that they lived in was the same one that their father had grown up in, they had a place to live while Prim finished high school. When Prim got offered an academic scholarship to NYU, it took the sisters about 30 seconds to decide to leave their small Pennsylvania roots and move on to hopefully bigger and better things.

They decided move to New York together, both of them knowing that they would never be able to be separated by that large a distance. They did however decide that they should keep their fathers house, not yet ready to let the final piece of him go. Prim's scholarship included student housing, which meant that Katniss had to find an apartment for herself nearby and a job to help her pay for it. Prim loved New York and the possibilities that it contained for her future, Katniss however was having a difficult time finding a job to help her pay for her small studio apartment that she was sure was the size of most people's closets. Real Estate prices in New York were insane, but Katniss managed to scrape by and watched Prim grow into a phenomenal young woman. When Prim told Katniss that she had been accepted to medical school at nearby Columbia, she was ecstatic for her sister, but when she told her that they weren't offering any sort of financial incentive, her heart broke. What could she do so that her sister could live her dream? How could she possibly pay for housing and tuition? Medical School was her Prim's dream, why couldn't Katniss give it to her? Prim took everything in stride because that's what she did, she insisted that she would put off medical school and get a job to help them put some money aside, she was so selfless, but Katniss couldn't let her give up her dream like that.

Lying awake one night she made the only decision that she could make. She knew how she was going to pay for medical school. She was going to sell her father's house. She was going to cut the final tie between her and her childhood, between her and her parents. When she told Prim, the younger girls eyes widened and she begged her to reconsider. "It's not worth it Katniss, I know how much you love that house, I cant let you do that." She did love her childhood home and the memories that she had there, but not as much as she loved her sister. "Its ok Prim, I want to. I cant bare to let your dreams go by the wayside for my own sentimentality." The next day, she sold her childhood home. Sure it was sad to see it go, but the look on Prim's face when she saw that it had brought just enough money to pay for 4 years of medical school wasn't one that Katniss would trade for anything else in the world. There was money left over after tuition and books, so it meant that Katniss needed to find steady employment so that the girls could afford to live in the city. They moved together into Katniss' small studio apartment and had to sleeping on the same bed. At 25 years old Katniss was living in a studio apartment, sharing a bed with her sister…..She had to get them both out of there.

One Monday morning a few weeks into the girl's new living arrangement, Katniss was looking around the small book store by her apartment, hoping to lose herself in another world for a little while when she felt a tap on her shoulder Immediately her guard went up and she spun around as quickly as she could preparing to use the thick book she was holding as a weapon when she was met with a blinding smile and gray eyes. She stood there open mouthed and staring at the last person that she expected to see in the big city. "Hey Catnip" said Gale with a smile as Katniss stood there unable to form words. "What are you doing here?" She was finally able to reply as she stepped forward to embrace him. She hadn't seen Gale in the 4 years since she had left Pennsylvania and he looked the same as he always did, tall and lithe. They had practically grown up together, playing in the woods as children and later going on hunting trips. After her parents passed away, Gale was always there to help with anything her and Prim needed. When the girls left Pennsylvania, Katniss decided that a clean break was what was needed, besides she'd have no way to contact him, she couldn't even afford a cell phone. "I'm working as a Sous Chef in a new restaurant. What about you? Why are you here?" he replied. "I live a few blocks away with Prim. She's going to medical school at Columbia." said Katniss.

Gale whistled appreciatively "Columbia? How in the world are you affording that?"

"We sold the house. That gave us enough to cover tuition and books, but I need to find about 3 jobs to get us into an apartment that we can at least maneuver around in. Gotta love New York, right?" she said while rolling her eyes.

"You're looking for a job?" replied Gale with a contemplative look "I might be able to help out there. Meet me tomorrow at 47 east 58th street in Manhattan. Noon." At that he turned and left without waiting for a response.

What was that all about? What kind of job could he offer up on the spot like that? Should I trust this person I haven't spoken to in 4 years? All of these thoughts went through Katniss' head on her walk back to her tiny apartment and as she opened the door and looked around she realized that she had nothing to lose by meeting Gale, it just might lead to a better life for her and Prim. At 11:50 she approached the place, apprehensively looking around at the swanky surroundings and then staring up at the logo etched into the glass window. _Panem. _She double checked the address that Gale had given her and letting out a long calming breath stepped over threshold into the most gorgeous restaurant that she had ever laid eyes on. The question immediately popped into her head of why had Gale wanted to meet here, she had been reading about this place in the newspaper, it had been a steady fixture in the society section since its grand opening three months ago. Walking up to the host station she was met with a smile from a pretty girl with black hair "Welcome to _Panem_, how can I help you?"

"I'm meeting someone here I don't know if he has arrived yet." replied Katniss

"Well who are you looking for, I can check our reservation book." said the girl

"Gale Hawthorne" replied Katniss

The girl's eyes lit up as she asked "Are you Katniss?"

Katniss just stared at the girl, furrowing her brow in confusion. How does she know who I am?

Oblivious to Katniss' concerns the girl went on "He told us this morning that you would be coming down, I'm Annie by the way. I'll just go tell him you are here."

Still confused, Katniss watched the girl's retreating form only to have her return a few minutes later with Gale in tow. Gale beamed at her in his pristine white chef coat with his name stitched over his left breast and Katniss couldn't help but be impressed by his obviously important job.

"Hey Catnip, glad you came down" he said while still smiling.

"Hey…..so what did you want me to come down here for she asked him as they walked towards the bar."

Gale ignored her question, instead talking to the bartender "Hey Finnick, can I get two bottles of water please." The green eyed bartender smile and dropped them on the bar wordlessly as he walked back to where he was wiping the smudges off of a wine glass.

Gale then turned to Katniss saying "You told me you needed a job, so I spoke to the manager about you, he said he'd meet you and maybe hire you.

Katniss looked at him uncomfortably then gazed at all of the opulence around her "I don't know if I could ever work in a place like this Gale, I mean what would they ever hire me for? To take out the trash?"

Gale furrowed his brow at her and said "You've never seen yourself clearly Katniss, I told him I thought you would make a good waitress. You're gonna meet him in about 10 minutes."

Katniss' eyes widened as she spluttered "W-What! Gale, you should have told me, I'm not dressed for an interview at a place like this!"

"You look fine." replied Gale "Besides, Haymitch won't care how you're dressed he'll be too hungover to care" he says with a laugh.

"Here he is. Haymitch!"

The older man winces as Gale's voice slices through the bar area and stumbles over grumbling under his breath. Gale laughs and says "this is the girl I told you about, we grew up together." turning to Katniss Gale says "this is Haymitch Abernathy, he's the General Manager here." Haymitch barely blinks but looks over to Katniss and says " What kind of experience do you have in fine dining Sweetheart?"

Katniss' eyes narrow at Haymitch's terminology but answers "not much, I've been witnessing for the past couple of years at small places around town, but nothing anywhere near the size or class of this place."

"Well then, why should I hire you Sweetheart? What do you have to offer us here?" replies Haymitch with a sneer.

Her vision turning hazy as she is getting more and more agitated with this man and his continually talking down to her, Katniss replies "Well I don't know, it cant be all that selective of a place if you are the General Manager can it? Do you sexually harass all of your employees? Or just prospective ones?"

Gale stands there in shock at Katniss' words as Haymitch's lips begin to curl in a smile "I like you, you have spunk." He then turns around to walk away and calls over his shoulder "Come back Thursday at 10 a.m., Hawthorne will tell you how to dress and what to bring. We'll see how long you last."

Both Gale and Katniss watched dumbfounded as Haymitch walked away both of them thinking "I got the job?"

"Well, that was an interesting interview." said Gale as Katniss looked over still in shock.

"Follow me" he says then started walking back toward the host that greeted her way in.

"Annie!" called Gale "this is Katniss, she's gonna start work here on Thursday, could you please go over the uniform with her, I have to get back into the kitchen."

"Sure thing." replied the girl with a smile

Turning to Katniss, Gale said "I have to get back to work, Annie will go over what to wear, since I have no idea about womens clothes….except maybe how to take them off." while grinning as Katniss rolled her eyes.

When he walked away Annie introduced herself and told her that all she would need were some black slacks and a black button up top and asked if she had any other questions. Still feeling a little overwhelmed, Katniss replied "no thank you" and made her way back to her small studio apartment to look through her closet for something appropriate to wear at _Panem_.

On Thursday morning at 9:45 Katniss found herself standing in front of the intimidating structure trying to work up the courage to go through with this. With the thought of "there's no turning back now" she headed through the glass doors not knowing what would be in store for her and her family from here on out.

The dark haired girl, Annie was again waiting at the host stand and greeted Katniss, telling her to have a seat while she called the manager over. A couple of minutes later an older woman with brilliant orange hair came walking brusquely into the waiting area trilling "Good morning, Good morning, This is going to be a Big Big day, you must be Katherine! My name is Effie, I've heard so much about you!"

Trying not to cringe at this woman's distractingly bright hair or her overly chipper attitude she replied "It's Katniss, actually….like the flower."

Looking unconcerned about the error, Effie motioned for Katniss to follow her as she led her toward the kitchen. "I am the training manager here at _Panem, _It's my job to show all new hires the expectations of the job that they will be performing." "I like to start all new hires with a tour of our restaurant. We're going to head into the kitchen to meet our chefs, so that you wont hesitate to ask them for assistance in ensuring that our guests receive the absolute best experience possible." she trilled on not even looking behind her to make sure that Katniss was following " This is the main cook line, where all our amazing dishes are created and here is our head Sous chef Gale Hawthorne."

"We've met." Gale replies with a smile

Effie furrows her brows as she processes what was said before saying "Mr. Hawthorne, you are aware of the "no fraternization" clause in the employment contract that you signed, are you not" then giving him a stern look.

"It's not like that Effie, we've known each other since we were kids. I was the one who got her the interview with Haymitch." Gale says.

Unconvinced, Effie replies "Well…we will be keeping and eye on you two then, I'm sure you wont mind if indeed there is nothing going on between you two." then she smiles brilliantly and says "Well then, on with the tour!" and turns on her heels and walks into the deeper recesses of the kitchen where all of a sudden the scents which were heavenly when she first entered the kitchen, turned absolutely divine….she would swear that she had never smelled anything so good in her whole life. It was that scent of fresh baked bread that suddenly dissipated all of Katniss' nerves and made her look forward to what possibly lied ahead of her here.

Effie stopped in front of one of the marble topped prep tables that was covered in flower looking around for something, or someone when she finally turned back to Katniss and said "Well I guess our pastry chef is off preparing something, he should be back momentarily." "That delightful aroma in the air is our fresh baked artisinal bread that is our signature here at _Panem." _

As she was talking, in walked a blond haired man who was about medium height he was taken by surprise at his two visitors and Effie looked up to see him "Ah, there you are, I was just telling Katniss here about your wonderful bread recipe. What I haven't mentioned yet is that besides being the creator of this amazing bread, he is also our head pastry chef, so he is responsible for every item on our divine dessert menu." "Ms. Everdeen, may I present to you Peeta Mellark, the best pastry chef in this country."

Looking embarrassed at Effies praise, he replied "Well I don't know about that" and turned to look at Katniss in the eyes. When his clear blue eyes met her smokey gray ones, they widened a little and a blush started creeping up his cheeks "Nice to meet you, welcome to _Panem_."

Katniss wasn't unaffected by his gaze, as an unfamiliar warmth started to spread through her body and she smiled shyly replying "thank you, I look forward to being here." He reached forward to shake her hand and when their palms met both of their eyes widened in shock, it was impossible not to feel the electric jolt that went through them both. Katniss reluctantly dropped his hand and walked behind Effie as she made her way out of the kitchen. Before she reached the door, she chanced a glance back at the blue eyed baker only to discover that he was watching her leave as well with a dumbstruck look on his face. Turning back around Katniss couldn't help but think that this job might not be so bad….

**I've never written anything for a public forum before, but I wanted to try to see what I could do. Any constructive comments are welcome. I wont have a regular update schedule, but if enough people end up liking this, who knows what will happen.**


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